While the business(es) have been keeping us home ALOT more than previous years, every so often we get to go walkabout still, and this time we set our sights on Florida for a little bit of exotic hunting centering around ICAST. We alotted 3 days and three nights to this particularly surgical mission, and it worked out well!
The first place we set our sights on was the Panhandle and its network of warm-water tannic rivers in search of record size longnose gar and spawning bowfin, which we of course found in incredible abundance!
However, the river was also home to some even more elusive dinosaur fish, the Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus desotoi) and we knew there was always a chance that one of these rare beasts would make an appearance, but it was such a long shot that we figured it was borderline impossible.
While we were fishing we could watch them air out every so often, and just that alone was magnificent, but when the baitrunner on our eurocarp spinner started screaming....we knew it was no gar! A quick hookset later and we watched the line vanish at an alarming pace.
We were only fishing 40lb braided mainline, so it took a bit of doing to bring the 7+ foot animal within reach of the bank, but once we had her in hand it was a couple quick photos and a glorious release!
After we shook off the awe of that experience we headed back south to the more familiar warm-water canals in search of other exotics, which we found in great numbers, but the real prize for this trip was one thats eluded us a good while, the Red-Bellied Pacu (Piaractus brachypomus).
These fish are exceptionally smart, and while we had located them last year, they were un-catchable during the day as they were far too skittish to even approach with a rod.
So we switched up the game plan, and returned to their known holding sites under cover of darkness and pitched to them from the limits of accuracy.
The explosive power of these animals is insane, and we did not expect the first one to take to be the largest of the pack, and as a result, we found ourselves significantly undergunned, but with a little doing, we coaxed the fish into the net and not a moment too soon as the hook-hold failed just a split second before we got hands on the fish!
The result, an absolute trophy of a Pacu and the final notch in the "established invasive species" tally for south Florida!
At any rate, it was good to get out and get back on the road again for a little mission. It only took 5500 miles of air travel and 1200 miles of driving once we landed but two more big game species got added to the tally and the itch has been satiated....for now.....
